One of the biggest announcements dropped by Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata in today’s Nintendo Direct stream came in two parts. Iwata started by saying that Nintendo has started a distribution deal with Sega regarding future installments in the long-running Sonic the Hedgehog series. Exactly what this means, such as whether all future Sonic games will be guaranteed to hit Nintendo consoles or even be exclusives, is currently unknown, but one of the first results of this deal will apparently be the newly announced game Sonic: Lost World.
Described by Iwata as “a brand-new action-adventure platforming game,” the title will be Nintendo-only, with versions available exclusively on the WIi U and 3DS.
The only other tidbit of information dropped during the stream can be seen in the above image with an enticing look at Sonic and Tails flying on their trademark plane, the Tornado, towards an abstract planetoid made up of hexagonal tiles of various terrain types. What exactly this will mean for the actual gameplay is unknown, but one possibility is that Sonic will be navigating across smaller, globe-like levels, akin to Super Mario Galaxy or the Ratchet & Clank games.
Iwata confirmed that more information on Sonic: Lost World will be announced some time prior to E3 next month, so fans of the series won’t have to wait very long to get details on just what the game is about. As always, we will keep you updated on future announcements regarding the title as they drop.